. 1 
>y 1 



A BRANCH 



OF THE 



WOODRUFF STOCK 



COMPILED BY 

FRANCIS E. WOODRUFF, B. A. (Yale, 1864) 

Life Member of the New Jersey Historical Society; New York 
Historical Society, and Washington Association of New Jersey 



* » j > . i 



MORRISTOWN, N. J.: 
Printed at "The Jerseyman " Office 

1902 



M* 






V 3 



• • ••• .-• • ; . : 
. •-•••• .•• ; •: • •• •"• 



SKETCHES 

I. Mr. John Gosmer. 
II. John Woodruff, The Immigrant. 
III. The Two Sons John. 
IV. (To follow). 
V. (To follow). 

NOTE 

Notes are numbered consecutively, and are referred to 
by their number instead of being repeated, throughout the 
three papers. 

ABBREVIATIONS 

Howell. The Early History of Southampton, L. I. 

By George Rogers Howell, M. A. (Yale), 2d Ed. 
S. T. R. Records of theTown of Southampton (printed) . 
8. T. R. W. S. P. Same, Mr. William S. Pelletreau, 

Introduction. 
S. T. R. Orig. Same. Original records at Southampton. 
E. L. I. W. Early Long Island Wills of Suffolk County : 
1691-1703, with notes by Wm. S. Pellet- 
reau, A. M. 
Hatfield. History of Elizabeth, New Jersey. 

By Rev. Edwin F. Hatfield, D.D. 



I. MR. JOHN GOSMER. 




CJHiEE«']£§ S*PSKy @««:*IP£|} ^**TCf(^ S|f>™ 



MR. JOHN GOSMER. 

Mr. John Gosmer 1 when "Mr." was reserved for the 
few, was one of the founders of Southampton, Long Island. 
His name at first attracted the attention of the writer be- 
cause he was the step-father (not father in-law, as we have 
long believed) 2 of our ancestor John Woodruff the immi- 
grant; but acquaintance with his career quickly made 
him interesting for himself. 

As Howell 3 has told us, he came (as did John Wood- 
ruff) from Fordwich, in Kent, England ; a quaint little 
town situated on the right bank of the river Stour (once 
far-famed for its delicious sea-trout), two or three miles 
below the city of Canterbury, of which in the long ago it 
was the port. For now an inland village, in Saxon days 
it was at the head of a tidal estuary ; so the early Kentish 
kings made it a customs station, whose commercial im- 
portance declined as silt made the river less navigable. 

It was the "little burgh which is called Forewic," when 
the Domesday survey was made in the year 1085. Later 
it became a member of the Cinque Ports' confederacy. 
Some time between the years 1218 and 1292 it obtained 
full corporate privileges (a list of its annually-elected may- 
ors, beginning with the latter year, has with much labor 



1 Goz-mar, Goth-famous ; Goose-mere ; written Gozmur, Gosmer. 
Gosmere, Gosmore, Cosmore, Gosman. 

2 In early records the terms "—in — law" or "step — " with father, 
brother, son, <fcc., are sometimes omitted; or one is used in the sense of 
the other. 

3 Howell (see Abbreviations). 



8 MR. JOHN GOSMER. 

been compiled from the existing records) ; but for centu- 
ries its burgesses had to struggle for their rights against 
the encroachments of their ecclesiastical and other over- 
lords. As the times changed, and Fordwich became a 
mere hamlet, the governing body gradually outlived its 
usefulness. Finally, by the Municipal Reforms Act of 
1883, it ceased to be "at once the smallest and one of the 
oldest of the Kentish municipalities." 

What the writer has just told about Fordwich, and is to 
tell about the Gosmer and Woodruff families, he owes to 
the Reverends A. M. Chichester, R. Hitchcock, and C. E. 
Woodruff, of Kent ; but chiefly to the latter, to whom, for 
his most valuable history of Fordwich, 4 memorials of the 
Fordwich Woodruffs, B and courteous help, all New Jersey 
Woodruffs are very deeply indebted. 

If we may judge from the records, Mr. Gosmer was the 
first of his line in Fordwich ; but whether he came from 
some other part of England, or from the Continent, has 
still to be ascertained. The earliest occurrence of his 
name that has been found is the signature of John Gozmur 
as witness to a will (proved in October, 1611) of a John 
Woodruff e, of the parish of St. Maries of Northgate (ad- 
joining Fordwich), 6 who named in it his wife Elizabeth 
and young son John, our immigrant ancestor. The times 
were so stormy that women and children must have pro- 
tection, and October 24th, 1611, John Gosmore was mar- 



4 Hist, of the Town and Port of Fordwich, of which a few copies are 
still obtainable from the author, the Rev. C. Eveleigh Woodruff. 
M. A.,) Otterden Rectory, Favershaua, Kent (and Editor of the Kent 
Archaeological Society), England, 

5 Memorials of the Family of Woodruff, by the Rev. C. E. Woodruff, 
M. A., for private distribution, Out of print. 

6 The parishes of Fordwich, St. Mary Northgate, and Sturry, are 
contiguous. 



MR. JOHN GOSMER. 9 

ried to Elizabeth Woodruff e, widow (both being of the 
parish of St. Mary, Northgate). 7 He thus became the 
step-father of our ancestor. 

In 1613, JohnGosmer, sidesman (churchwarden's assist- 
ant), signed (after the vicar and churchwardens) a bill of 
"Christenings, Marriages, and Burials in the Parish of St. 
Mary, Northgate." In 1618, John Gosmer, bachelor, 
joiner, of St. Mary Northgate, married Ann Woodruff, 
widow. 8 As after much kind research no other Gosmer 
items prior to this year 1618 have been found in the rec- 
ords, whether Mr. John Gosmer was a widower when he 
married the widow Elizabeth, and whether he was the 
father by a first wife of the John Gosmer of 1618, and, as 
has been suggested, of the Anne who married our ancestor 
John Woodruff, are matters of conjecture. 

In 1637 it is recorded 4 that there was a dispute between 
the Fordwich Corporation and Mr. Gosmer (as a tenant of 
the Chapter of Canterbury) regarding the extent of their 
respective rights over some land ; which was referred to 
arbitration. The result is not known to us, but in 1638 
Mr. Gosmer was himself the Mayor of the Corporation. 4 
All England was then in the throes of the impending civil 
war, and, like other ports, Fordwich resisted King Charles' 
illegal exaction of ship-money. In 1639 the Council in 
Whitehall demanded from Mr. Gosmer's successor in the 
mayoralty this unpaid assessment, "which should long 
since have been paid to the Sheriff of Kent or the Treas- 
urer of the Navy." 4 We know that in 1640 a Mr. Gosmer 
was in America. 



7 Register of St. Mary Bredin, Canterbury. Canterbury Marriage 
Licenses, edited by J. M. Cowper. 

8 Canterbury Marriage Licences, ut. supra. 



10 MK. JOHN GOSMER. 

Efforts made at Sandwich (a port just seaward of Fon 
wich) and Dover in England, and in the United State: 1 
have failed to find any record of his emigration. The itei'l 
may possibly be buried in the unexamined manuscripts c 
the Public Record Office of England ; but Hotten 9 in hi 
Introduction says in effect that only the names of thos 
emigrants were taken who legally left the shores of Engj 
land ; that those who went (as Mr. Gosmer obviously did 
to avoid payment of the hated ship money left secretly 
and that of such no record would exist. 

Be all this as it may, so far as the writer can ascertain, 
there has never been but this one John Gosmer in America; 
and there can be no reasonable doubt that it was the ex- 
Mayor of Ford wich who is next on record 1 ° at Lynn, Mas- 
sachusetts, where already, on March 10th, 1639, the found- 
ing of Southampton, L. I., had been formally "under- 
taken." By the mutilated declaration of the Company we 
know that on the 4th day of the 4th — 16 — (probably June 
4th, 1640), "Mr. John Gosmere" was "admitted an under- 
taker." At Southampton, on December 16th, 1640, the 
name of "Mr. John Gosmer" headed the list of the par- 
ties of the second part to the "Indian Deed" for the land 
lying eastward "between the foresaid bounds by water" 
from the place ' 'where the Indians hayle their cannoes out 
of the North Bay to the southside of the Island," later 
known as Canoe Place 10 . 

On March 7th, 1644, it was ordered that "yf by the 
providence of God there shall be henceforth within the 
bounds of this plantacon any whale or whales cast up" 



9 Hotten's Lists of Emigrants, 1600-1700. 

10 S. T. JR. 



MR. JOHN GOSMER. 1 1 

certain designated townsmen should attend to their "cutting 
out." In this; in dealing with the Shinuecocks, Montauks 
and other tribes ; in dividing the lands among the towns- 
men; in fencing out the wilderness; in clearing off the 
forests; and in all the varied tasks of a new settlement, 
the town records show that "John Gosmer, Gentleman," 
took a leading part. For the enforcement of law and order, 
magistrates (generally three in number) were elected by 
the General Court (town meeting) "who were looked upon 
with a degree of veneration that the modern occupants of 
the office can hardly hope to obtain"; 10 in 1644 he was 
already a magistrate. When in 1647, Southampton enter- 
ed into a compact with Connecticut, Mr. Edward Howell 
and he were the first to represent the town in the House 
of Magistrates in the General Court at Hartford ; and he 
continued to serve until 1650. 1X 

Then, in the midst of his prosperity, a lifelong grief 
came to him in the death of his only son Richard ; whose 
estate he administered in the year 1650. 10 As on March 
7th, 1644, the son had been appointed to the whaling 
squadron 10 , his presumable age at that time indicates that 
he was born in England; and as he was appointed from 
the 3d Ward, while his father was appointed from the 2d 
Ward, he presumably had a house of his own. Notwith- 
standing this, Howell says that he appears to have died 
unmarried ; and, whether married or not, that his father 
adopted a son, and that the name of Gosmer dropped out 
of the record after the death of the survivor, must seem 
sufficient evidence that he died without leaving male issue 



11 Howell. Hinman's Puritan Settlers; Colonial Records of Conn., 
1636-1665. Plymouth Colony Records, IX, 143, 167. Savage's Genealog- 
ical Dictionary. 



12 MR. JOHN GOSMER. 

In 1652 Mr. Gosmer was the Primus of the three South- 
ampton magistrates; and he was re elected several years 
in succession. 10 During 1655-1658 he again represented 
his town at Hartford. 11 When in 1657 there was an 
Indian alarm, and "for preservation of ye towne" it was 
voted that all men should "lay downe themselves in re- 
spect of their persons & estates, to bee disposed of by the 
said 7 men in a way of righteousness, to attend any means 
that may in their Judgement effect the said ends," he was 
one of the seven. 3 10 

Already, however, he had begun to set his house in order. 
In 1655 he bought property in Boston, which in 1658 he 
made over "to his kinswoman, Ann, widow of Richard 
Carter " 12 In 1657 his step-son John Woodruff succeeded 
him in the whaling squadron. It is probably in the same 
year that this John Woodruff, Sr. , received from him the 
"messuage or tenement over against the said Mr. Gosmer 
his home lot, which said tenement he bought of John Top- 
ping" (in 1657), and "five acres of land"; though the deed 
was not recorded until February 20, 1660-1. On July 29, 
1659, he deeded to his "adopted sonne, who hath lived 
with me from a child, all my goods and chattells, house 
and lands" ; to which Elizabeth his wife consented. a ° No 
other will has been found. 

Then (after the entry of February 20th, 1660-61), he 



12 Savage 's Genealogical Dictionary. 

It is possible that this Ann, widow of Richard Carter, was the Ann 
Woodruff, widow, who in 1618 married John Gosmer, bachelor (page 9); 
who, because the surname was very rare thereabouts, may be believed to 
have been a son of Mr. Gosmer by a first wife. Widowed a second time. 
Ann may have married Richard Carter. A third time widowed, it would 
have been natural for Mr. Gosmer to have provided something out of 
his wealth for a "kinswoman" who was the widow of his first born son ; 
and natural for him, when made childless by the death of Richard, to 
have chosen the name of the dead first-born for his adopted son John. 



MR. JOHN GOSMER. 13 

was lost from the town records that had so often shown 
him a masterful man of affairs, upright, able, energetic, 
wealthy, dignified, perhaps just a little bit dictatorial. In 
his "Puritan Settlers" Hinman has written: "an examina- 
tion of the Colony records of Connecticut shows that Hon. 
John Gosmer, Mr. Edward Howell, Mr. John Ogden, Mr. 
Young, Captain Thomas Toppin, Thomas Baker and 
Robert Bond, were the leading men in the eastern half of 
Long Island in its early settlement." Doubtless John Gos- 
mer lies with his fellow pioneers in the old South End 
burying ground at Southampton; but their tombstones 
have crumbled into dust, 3 and, less fortunate than others, 
he has left no descendants of his name to remind men of a 
most worthy life- It rests with the descendants of his 
step son to keep his memory green. 




II JOHN WOODRUFF, THE IMMIGRANT. 



II JOHN WOODRUFF, THE IMMIGRANT. 

In the j r ear 1508, f 3 just at the end of the reign of King 
Henry the Seventh, Thomas Woodrove 14 was the first of 
his name to appear in the records of the town of Ford- 
wich (4). He was the "trusted envoy of the town" on 
journeys that were hazardous in those days of Henry the 
Eighth. In 1538, St. Augustine, "the great monastery 
without the walls of Canterbury, shared the fate of other 
like foundations, and its estates were given over to the 
rapacity of the King and his courtiers ; and in the follow- 
ing year, Thomas Woderofe, who was now a Jurat, * 5 sat 
with his brother magistrates in their court at Fordwich, to 
arrange for the conveyancing to some favored individuals 
of a portion of the possessions of the dispoiled house. " He 
died in 1552. 



13 What follows has been taken from the very interesting "Memorials 
of the Family of Woodruff" (5). If the author would re-print and pub- 
lish these Memorials he would confer a great boon on all readers. The 
brief sketches here given should be considered a mere stop-gap. 

14 Woodreeve. In the Saxon period in England a reeve "represented 
the lord of a district, whether township or hundred, at the folkmote 
(meeting or assembly) of the county ; and within his district he levied 
his lord's dues, and performed some of his judicial functions" (Cham- 
ber's Encyclopaedia). A "wood-reeve" was presumably reeve for his 
lord's woodlands. Sometimes written, Woodreefe, Woodrove, Wood- 
roffe, Woodroufe, Woderofe, Woodrofe, Woodrufe, Woodruffe, Wood- 
ruff, Woodrow, Woodrop. 

15 The only existing Jurats (Channel Islands) are "judges and legis- 
lators appointed for life" (Century Dictionary). In Fordwich the Jurat 
seems to have been Magistrate and Municipal Councillor in one. 



18 JOHN WOODRUFF, THE IMMIGRANT. 

His son William Woodroffe, is recorded as a Jurat ol 
Ford vvich in 1579; perhaps the senior Jurat, as from his 
generally signing the minutes of the Borough Court he 
was apparently acting for the Maj^or in the latter's absence. ' 
He was also a "Key Keeper of the Town Chest; a very 
honorable office conferred upon the two best men of the 
Liberty" (Borough). He died in 1587. 

His eldest son, Robert Woodroffe of Fordwich, in 1573 
married Alice Russel at St. Mary North gate 6 . Both he 
and a brother William, about the year 1580, figure in the 
Town Books as freemen (entitled to privileges of Borough). 
William's family became extinct at Fordwich in 1673. 
Robert is on record as a Jurat, and a Churchwarden 
(1584) ; and died in 1611. 

His eldest son, John Woodroffe, was born at Fordwich 
in 1574. On "reaching man's estate he took up his resi- 
dence in Northgate, where his uncle William Russell was 
Churchwarden" ; in 1601 he married Elizabeth Cartwright; 
and he died at the early age of thirty-nine. His will 
"would not lead us to suppose that any increase to his for- 
tune had resulted from his removal to Northgate." In it, 
"delivered this (sic) of September, 1611," when he was 
"very sick in bodye", and proved in October, 1611, he, 
"John Woodruffe", "husbandman" (head of a household), 
bade that he "be buried at the direction of my well belov- 
ed wyffe" ; named minor legacies to his young, and only, son 
John, and others; and left all the rest of his "goods and 
chattills" to his wife Elizabeth. The widow married Mr. 
John Gosmer 7 . 

This thorough search through the records, by the Rev. 
C. Eveleigh Woodruff, shows that so far back as 1508 our 
ancestors were freemen of Fordwich. and men of standing 



JOHN WOODRUFF. THE IMMIGRANT. 19 

in the community. Apparently they were yeomen 16 of, 
to judge from the surname, Saxon blood. Some day, per- 
haps, by searching family histories and other records, 
some one may find a "Thomas Woodrove'' (not otherwise 
disposed of) who fits the dates and circumstances; and so 
will re- attach us to the parent stock. 

As, notwithstanding Mr. Woodruff's most careful search 
of the records, but one adult John Woodruff could be 
found throughout the three parishes 6 between the years 
1625 and 1640, the John Woodroufe baptized at St. Mary 
Northgate in 1604 was beyond reasonable doubt the "only 
son" named in the will of John Woodroffe of 1574-1611; 
and, therefore, after the re-marriage of his mother Eliza- 
beth, the step-son of Mr. John Gosmer. He married Anne 

, possibly, as has been suggested, a 

daughter of his step-father by a first wife 1 7 ; but it is more 
probable that when, in 1665, their son John spoke x 8 of Mr. 
Gosmer as his "grandfather" it was not because of his 
mother's parentage but because through his father he was 
a step-grandson 2 . It can evidently only have been this 
one adult John Woodruff who is on record in 1636 as a 
Churchwarden at Fordwich; and the baby John Wood- 
ruff who was baptized in 1637 in the parish of Sturry was 
presumably his eldest son John. 

Thompson 19 , on page 207, named among the settlers 



16 The Century Dictionary defines "yeoman" as, in recent English 
use, one owning (and usually himself cultivating) a small landed prop- 
erty ; a free-holder. '"There came a country gentleman (a sufficient 
yeoman) to town" (Aubrey. Lives. Walter Raleigh). 

17 See page 9. 

18 S. T. R. II, page 49. 

19 Thompson's "Hist, of Long Island ;" dedicated to the Honorable 
Silas Wood. For the above facts stated by Thompson, Savage (Gen. 
Diet.) refers us to "Wood's History ;" in which no mention of the name 
of "Woodruff" has been found. 



20 JOHN WOODRUFF, THE IMMIGRANT. 

who arrived at Southampton, Long Island, during the first 
twelve months a "John Gosman" (written "John Gosmer" 
on page 208), and a "John Woodruff"; while the pages of 
the Southampton Town Records show that this only one 
adult John Woodruff at that period in Southampton was a 
member of the Gosmer household. There can therefore be 
no reasonable doubt that the John Woodruff born in 1604 
accompanied his mother and step-father on their journey to 
Lynn and Southampton in 1639 or 1640; and so became 
the immigrant ancestor of the New Jersey Woodruffs 20 . 
With him no doubt came his wife Anne, and the baby 
John; destined to later become one of the founders of 
Elizabeth Town, New Jersey, so that the baby's descend- 
ants enjoy the distinction of having two immigrant ances- 
tors 2 * . 

For years after the founding of Southampton, although 
the land was "honorably purchased of its original owners, 
yet the settlers never saw a moment's rest for fear of their 
dreaded neighbors. In the field a guard was kept; at 
night none knew at what hour the alarm would sound ; to 
meeting on the Lord's day, they went as men prepared for 
instant war; every male from 16 years of age to 60 was 
enrolled in the ranks" 22 . Under such circumstances it 
might be expected that the step-son and his wife would 



20 See page 10, Genealogists have been unable to establish any con- 
nection between him and Matthew Woodruff of Farmington, ancestor of 
New England family j although both were first on record in America in 
the same year, 1640. 

21 Possibly of the party were also Richard and Ann Carter (See page 
12. Note.), who were first on record at Boston on July 2d, 1639 (Drake's 
Hist, of Antiqities of Boston, page 245). This date may throw light on 
the time of the arrival in America of the Gosmers and Woodruffs ; but 
of course the Carters may have led the way. 

22 8. T. R.; W.S. P., page III. 



JOHN WOODRUFF, THE IMMIGRANT. 21 

live with their parent, both no longer young 23 ; and the be- 
lief is confirmed by Mr. Gosmer's statement (in the deed 
that was his will) that their son, John, whom he adopted, 
"hath lived with me from a child" 24 . In those patri- 
archal days, even more than now, as a member of Mr. 
Gosmer's household John Woodruff would not have been 
considered one of the "heads of families," and, therefore, 
would not appear in the List of May, 1649 2 5 . There seems 
indeed to have been no opportunity in the town records 
until on April 30, 1657 (when he was 53 years of age) he 
is named among the arms-bearing men to whom gun- 
powder was served out because of an Indian attack on the 
town 26 . 

On Sepember 17th of the same year Mr. Gosmer "bought 
an hundred pound lot of John Topping with the housing 
and fences and all his accommodations, with all the privil- 
eges there unto belonging in Southampton" 27 , which he 
handed over to his step-son ; possibly to qualify him as his 
successor in the whaling squadron, which he became the 
same year 28 . In that year, also (but probably later than 
the above) John Woodruff is on the list of the representa- 
tives of the town houses, while Mr. Gosmer's name is 
omitted 29 ; and he is recorded in the Plan 30 as having, in 



23 The mother Elizabeth was first married in 1601. 

24 S. T. R ; II, page 237. 

25 Howell, page 31. 

26 S. T. R ; I: pages <J5, Note, and 155. 

27 Ibid : I : page 136. The lot is on the west side of Main street nearly 
opposite, and south of west from, the Gosmer home lot. The house on 
it, occupied in 1832 by Mr. Frederic Howell (S. T. R. III. Plan), and 
now by Mr. William Howell, is the one next south of Enoch's millinery 
store. 

28 Howell, page 184. 

29 Ibid, page 32. 

30 S. T. R.: Ill : Plan of Main street, Southampton. 



22 JOHN WOODRUFF, THE IMMIGRANT. 

1659, succeeded the latter in the Gosmer homestead. In 
1659, also, he is for the first time mentioned as exchanging 
land 3 K On Feb. 20th, 1660-61 the 1657 gift of house and 
land to him was registered by Mr. Gosmer 32 ; after which 
the name of Gosmer disappeared from the records. Ap- 
parently therefore, John Gosmer, who had retired from 
active work in 1657, died in 1661; and John Woodruff, 
then 57 years of age, reigned in his stead. In 1661 and 
1662 he was only recorded as a successful plaintiff, as on 
an important jury, as giving in his "ear-mark" 33 , and as 
dealing in land 34 . In 1663, at the town meeting of May 
1st, when new rules were established regarding the keep- 
ing up of fences to prevent the trespassing of "cattell, 
sheepe, goats and hoggs" that had been breeding quarrels 
and lawsuits, he was elected and "sworne impounder" 35 . 
In 1664 the times suddenly changed. At its foundation 
a little republic in itself, Southampton soon entered "into 
combinacon with the Jurisdiction of Connecticote" 36 . The 
relation continued practically unchanged until on March 12, 
1664, Charles II granted Long Island (and other terri- 
tories) to his brother James, Duke of York ; and, against 
the wish of its people, Suffolk county, with its chief town 
Southampton, became a part of the Province of New York 
31 . In the following year, under the "Duke's Laws", 
promulgated at the Hempstead convention in March, 1665, 



31 Ibid : I ; page 131. A comparison with the original has shown that 
the "John Woodruff" on page 123 of (the published) Vol. I is a misprint 
for "John Wendall"; as, indeed, the context indicates. 

32 Ibid : II : page 205. 

33 Brand to identify domestic animals. 

34 S. T. R.: I : pages 149, 150, 151. II : pages 13, 14, 28, 223, 229. 

35 Ibid : II : page 222. 

36 Howell, page 51. 

37 Ibid, page 57. 



JOHN WOODRUFF, THE IMMIGRANT. 23 

Suffolk county was made the "East Riding (court district) 
of Yorkshire" 38 . Townsmen and General Courts (Town 
Meetings) ceased to exist, and a new tribunal was estab- 
lished called the "Court of the Constable and Overseers". 
"All the evils anticipated by the people were to be fully 
realized. All complaints were met in the manner that 
might be expected from those who considered that they 
were commissioned by Heaven to rule and that the people 
were born to obey. Gov. Nicholls was succeeded by Gov. 
Lovelace, whose character as a ruler may be learned from 
his remark, that the only way to keep the people quiet was 
to lay such taxes upon them as should leave no time for 
thinking of anything else than how to pay them" 39 . 

Many good men went into opposition, and perhaps John 
Woodruff was among them. For, excepting such mention 
in land matters 4 ° as would be expected for a large proprie- 
tor, he does not appear in the records until the final entry 
of Feb. 22nd, 1669, when he joined in signing a petition to 
"our honorable Governor Gen'l. Lovelace" that they might 
not be deprived of "those our privilidges which at great rate 
wee have procured with much dificulty and danger wee 
have soe many years possessed" 41 . Possibly, also, his ab- 
sence from public life was, at least in part, due to his having 
grown, older than his years; for on May 4th, 1670, when 
" weak in Body", he made his will 43 , which was proved 
on June 1st, 1670; so he died in the 66th year of his age. 

In his will he gave unto his "Eldest son John Woodruff 



38 Ibid, page 58. The American "Yorkshire" was made up of Queen's 
county ; King's county, Staten Island, and Newtown ; and Suffolk 
county. 

39 S. T. R.. II. W. S. P.. pages II and III : 

40 Ibid, I. pages 150. 151, 152, 175, 179, 180, II, pages 41. 251, 314. 

41 Ibid, II : page 350. 

42 New York Surrogate's Office, Liber I, folio 69. 



24 JOHN WOODRUFF, THE IMMIGRANT. 

of Elizabeth Town, one half crowne piece of money in full 
of all portions and Patrimony whatsoever, to be expected 
from mee, or out of any part of my estate" ; and to his 
daughters Anne 43 and Elizabeth 44 each 20£, to be paid 
after the widow's death. These small legacies usually 
indicated that the heirs concerned had already received 
their portions, on their marriage or their going out into the 
world, but the peculiar and particular wording in the case 
of the eldest son may perhaps mean that family friction was 
not entirely avoided when the younger brother was adopted 
as son, and made heir, by the step-grandfather. The 
testator further made the "wife Anne Woodruff and my 
youngest son John Woodruff joynt Executors"; and left 
"all the rest of my Estate both land and chattels and goods 
and household stuffe to be to ye only proper behoofe and 
benefitt of my said Execs." By the Inventory attached to 
the will we further know that there had already been "one 
half of ye Land Howsings and Accommodations clearly 
by Deed of Gift disposed of to his son John;" obviously 
the youngest son. (Search has failed to find the Deed). 
This Inventory, when compared with others of the place 
and period, shows that, for his times, John Woodruff was 
a man of wealth and refinement; and a study of the 
other too scanty information within reach has given the 
impression that had he less unselfishly sacrificed himself 
to the interests of his parents, his family, and his town, 
the man who was Churchwarden at 32 would have taken 
up more room in the records, The little there is, how- 



43 Anne married Robert Woolley ; see Howell, page 408, and S. T. R., 
II, page 315. 

44 Elizabeth married —Dayton ; probably Robert, son 

of Ralph, See Howell, pages 229, 230. 



JOHN WOODRUFF, THE IMMIGRANT. 25 

ever, is to his honor ; and from the requirements of the at 
that time important and difficult post of "impounder," 
to which he was elected, it may be inferred that he was 
upright, of tact and sound judgment, and, generally, of a 
character and standing that commanded the confidence 
and respect of all both high and low in the community. 
Doubtless he too, like John Gosmer 46 , lies with the other 
founders of Southampton in the old South End burying 
ground, and his tombstone, also, has crumbled into dust ; 
but, more fortunate than his step-father, there are ever- 
increasing generations of direct descendants to keep his 
name before the eyes of men. 



45 See page 13. 




THE TWO SONS JOHN. 



& ■&&$& am& c&k} 0M, } ,-^v>c, dfg% 
W ^w ^y^ ^^ ^m' *%&& ^±0 



THE TWO SONS JOHN. 

Of the two sons named John by our ancestor John 
Woodruff, the Immigrant 46 , the elder was baptized in 
1637 in the parish of Sturry , in Kent, England. He 
doubtless accompanied his parents and grand parents 4 7 on 
the journey from Fordwich to Southampton, Long Island, 
in 1639 or 1640, but does not appear in the records of the 
latter town until April 30, 1657, when he (then twenty 
years of age) was included in a list of arms-bearing men 4 8 . 

He was first mentioned as a landowner on February 20, 
1659-60; and about the same time he married a daughter 
of Mr. John Ogden of Southampton. His father-in law 
added to his land and later, in 1664, gave him the "house 
and home lot" on Main street Mr. Ogden had bought from 
his nephew (or cousin) John Ogden on the latter's depar- 
ture from Southampton 49 . On January 4, 1660-61 "John 
Woodruff, Jun. his daughter Sarah was borne" 50 . He 
was joint plaintiff with Mr. Ogden in an action of trespass 
of Sept. 3, 1661, in which the parties came to an agreement. 
There were dealings in land ; and at a town meeting on 
May 1, 1663, he was elected a "Cunstable" 51 . In the 



46 See page 17. 

47 Pages 10, 20. 

48. S. T. R. L, pp. 154. 155. 

49 Ibid II., pp. 208, 229, 236. The site of the house is now occupied by 
the residence of Mr. Albert J. Post (Clerk of the Town Trustees'), on the 
east side of Main street, three doors north of the "Hampton Road" to 
Bridgehampton, Easthampton, &c. 

50 Ibid II, 218. 

51 Ibid II, pp. 8, 223, 225 ("1653" is "1663" in the original record) and 
229. The office of constable even at that time conferred honor on its 
occupant, but it was not until 1665 that it was greatly increased in power 
and dignity by the establishment of "The Court of the Constable and 
Overseers." S. T. R. II. W. S. P., p. 2. 



30 THE TWO SONS JOHN. 

burning question of the Topping Purchase he testified, on 
Feb. 2, 1663-64, that he was present "When Wayacom- 
bone delivered unto Mr. John Ogden quite seizen and pos- 
session of all ye lands" Mr. Ogden had sold to the town of 
Southampton, but Captain Topping claimed; the Court 
decided against the latter 53 . 

It was in 1664 that the bitter discontent began because 
King Charles had granted Long Island (and other terri- 
tories) to his brother James, Duke of York and Albany. 

In addition, after John Woodruff, sen., died his younger 
brother would have possession of the homestead that ordi- 
narily would have belonged to himself as head of the 
family; and it is possible, also, that death in his own 
household further made longer residence in Southampton 
distasteful to the elder son. So it was but natural he 
should join his father-in-law, Mr. Ogden, in the emigra- 
tion to New Jersey. Between August 29 and September 
7, 1665, he recorded the sales of his house to Robert Wool- 
ley the husband of his sister Anne 53 , and of his land to 
other fellow townsmen. On the latter date "Sarah Wood- 
ruff ye wife of John Woodruff, Jr. , of Southampton" con- 
firmed the above sales 5 4 . How John Woodruff, Jr. , could 
have had a daughter "Sarah" borne in 1661, and a wife 
"Sarah" living on September 7, 1665, and yet in Febru- 
ary 7, 1666, or even two or three months earlier, have ar- 



52 Ibid I., p. 177. 

53 page 24. 

54 S. T. R. II, pp. 48, 49, and 236. From a study of the original full 
text it seems apparent that the exchanges (not sales) of land also regis- 
tered on these dates, while one or two might have been for ihe younger 
brother of the same name, were in the main only the putting on record 
by the emigrant of previous transactions in order to give a good title. 
In 1679, when living in E town he for this purpose confirmed a former 
sale of land to William Ludlow that seems to have been overlooked at 
his departure from Southampton. So. Book 0. of Deeds, folio 331. 



THE TWO SONS JOHN. 31 

rived in Elizabeth Town, as Dr. Hatfield doubtless cor- 
rectly states 55 , with no children and a wife "Mary," evi- 
dently needs explanation 5 6 . 

At Elizabethtown, on the 27 April, 1691, when only 
fifty-four years old but "in hazard of life," he made his 
will 57 and on May 25 it was proved. His bold signature 
to the original will at Trenton (Old Essex Wills) is char- 
acter-revealing ! Dr. Hatfield (passim) has told us much, 
but not enough, of his gallant career as Ensign, High 
Sheriff, Magistrate, and a leading citizen who stood up 
bravely against the arbitrary course of the Proprietors. 
It is earnestly to be hoped that his descendants 68 will tell 
us the story of his life with the fulness that is so evidently 
his due. 

From the dates there can be no doubt that John Wood- 
ruff, Jun., the second son, was born in Southampton, but 
the year of his birth is unknown 5 9 ; for genealogical pur- 
poses, however, it may be put down at about 1650 60 . On 

55 Hatfield, p. 105. 

56 The daughter Sarah might have died ; and the unmistakable 
"Sarah" in the original record of September 7th may have been incor- 
rectly copied from a less legible "Mary" in the deed ; it is less probable 
that he re-married in so brief a time. 

57 Trenton. Liber D of Deeds, folio 283, 

58 The writer is of the Westfield branch of the New Jersey Woodruffs, 
descended from the Immigrant through his younger son John, and his 
son Joseph : as distinguished from the E. town branch, descended 
through the elder son John he is now writing about. 

59 His tombstone, that might tell us, with little doubt lies buried 
under the turf of the old South End burying ground. Effort is now be- 
ing made to ascertain if any of the buried stones of that generation and 
later can be found. 

60 The giving of the name "John" to a younger brother while an elder 
brother also named "John" was still living in the same household is so 
unusual it is only reasonable to believe it was not done until the death 
in 1649-50 of the step-grandfather's only son, Richard Gosmer (Page 11) 
had become a cause for the adoption and the naming. That the younger 



32 THE TWO SONS JOHN. 

July 29, 1659, there is the following record ; "Be it known 
unto all that are present and to come that I, John Gosmer 
of Southampton upon Long Island in America (Gentle- 
man), have given and granted and by this my present 
Deed have confirmed to my adopted sone John Woodruf 
whoe hath lived with me from a child, All my goods and 
chattells, howses and lands with all the appurtenances, 
thereunto belonging, and all privileges pertaining there- 
unto ; To have and to hold and to enjoy the above men- 
tioned gifts as his owne forever. Also Elizabeth the wife 
of ye said John Gosmer (gent.) hath consented and con- 
firmed all the above mentioned gifts in witness whereof they 
have boath of them hereunto set to their hands and seals 
this Day of July 29; 5; in the year of ye nativity of our 
Lord Christ one thousand six hundred fifty-nine." 61 . This 
adopted son was presumably the younger brother 62 . 



brother was not included in the arms-bearing list of 1657 is evidence that 
at least he was then not 16 years old (S. T. R., pp. 154-155.) The second 
of his sons still living when he made his will, on Jan. 14, 1701. was not 
born until 1676 (N. J. Hist. Society's Proceedings III, Vol. II, No. 2, 
page 116); and the will shows that of his children then surviving seven, 
including all the daughters, were not yet 21 years old. He is therefore, 
not likely to have married before 1670. perhaps not until after the death 
of his father in that year ; and if after the fashion of the times he mar- 
ried at twenty or thereabouts, he would have been born about 1650. 

61 S. T. R. Orig. Liber A, No. 1, p. 57. 

62 The use of the word "confirmed" clearly indicates that the deed 
merely put on record a previous family agreement. The only argu- 
ment known to the writer against the contention that this former 
family agreement referred to the younger son is the following : On 
Dec. 18, 1665 Isaac Halsey. in the right of John Woodruff, Jun., as a 
Proprietor, claimed a three hundred pound lot (see page 34), and John 
Woodruff: Sen., a 150 pound lot, of Quagnanantuck (Quaqna, Quogue) 
laDd : and on January 19, 1666, they were charged for the lots drawn (S. 
T. R. I, p, 151. II p. 250). When parting with this land in 1672 Mr. 
Halsey stated (Suffolk Co. Clerk's Office, Small Book of Deeds, p. 46) 
that be hadipurchased it from "John Woodruff. Jr.. the adopted sone of 
John Gosmer, Gent", and that this was recorded in a deed (that has not 
been found) of Sept. 7. 1665 ; that is. of the very date on whi^.h the elder 



THE TWO SONS JOHN. 

His first appearance b} T his own act in the town records 
was in June, 1666, when he (then probably about sixteen 
years of age) gave in as his earmark (brand for rattle, 
&c.,) " a half-penny under the left ear" 62 . It was per- 
haps not until 1670, or later, that he married Hannah 
Newton 63 . In 1675 he joined in the town agreement to 
set apart a house and land to "Bee and remain from time 
to time and forever to the use of ye ministry of our said 
towne, as the providence of God shall hereafter dispose 
ministers of the word successively unto us" 64 . On Octo- 
ber 26th, 1683, he again recorded his earmark, this time 
when giving in one for "his son John Woodruff, Jun." 
which was to be "two half-pennys under the left ear 
which earmark was his grandmother Woodruff's and is 



son was selling all his property prior to his emigration to New Jersey. 
As, however. Proprietors' rights could only be obtained either by in- 
heritance or by purchase (see page 34), and as it is very improbable 
that either of the two sons had earned money enough to buy rights that 
would have entitled him to claim a 300 pound lot (the largest amount 
claimed, by any, and by only four of the Proprietors: and double that 
claimed by their father) it is reasonable to believe that the 300 pound 
claim was inherited from Mr. Gosmer. Now we know that, while the 
parents occupied the homestead after Mr. Gosmer's death and pre- 
sumably had a life interest, it was the younger son who after their death 
possessed the homestead and who willed it, and Mr. Gosmer's other 
property, to his heirs. Notwithstanding any coincidence of dates, 
therefore, this seems to prove beyond question that it was he, and not 
the elder brother, who was the "adopted sone." 

62 S. T. R. I. 149. As his father's earmark was "two half-pennys 
under the left ear" the "one half-penny" had probably been previously 
used by the elder brother, and abandoned to the younger brother on 
the former's emigration. 

63 Benoni Newton in a deed of 1682 (So. Red Book of Deeds, folios 
77-78) described John Woodruff as his "brother"; as he had not married 
either of John's two sisters, (page 24), "brother" doubtless meant 
"brother-in-law" (2) through his own sister. Mr. Newton was a Town 
Trustee in 1693 (S. T. R. II, 128). "Trustees" were first established by 
Dongan's Patent, December 6, 1686, (S. T. R. I. Appendix : but omitted 
in some copies). 

64 S. T. R., II, page 63. 



L.ofC. 



34 THE TWO SONS JOHN. 

by her made over to the said John Woodruff, Jun.," 65 . 
In the same year he was included, for purposes of taxa- 
tion, in "The Estemateof the Town of Southampton for 
the year 1683"° 6 . He was a subscriber in 1694 for two of 
schoolmaster Mr. Mowbrey's "schollers" 61 ; and in 1696 he 
was among the inhabitants of the town assessed for a con- 
tribution to the "defence of the fronteer" 68 . From 1673 
to 1698 there are numerous items 69 , besides those already 
mentioned, regarding the division, dealing in, and manage- 
ment of land. 

By the Lynn agreement of 1639 ,() Southampton land 
was owned by the Proprietors as tenants in common, until 
it was from time to time divided by the drawing of lots ; 
the shares being proportioned to the amount of money 
each had contributed to the "undertaking". To provide a 
convenient unit the town in 1648 adopted one-fourtieth of 
£6,000, 150 pounds, as a "lot"; to be subdivided into three 
fifties 1 * . Shares passed by inheritance, and could be pur- 
chased; the undivided land was called "commonage". As 
the divisions were made at different times in separate 
localities, and as in each division each proprietor was en- 
titled to his share of homestead, meadow, upland, arable, 



65 Ibid II, p. 275. Orig. Liber A II. Folio 101. This John was ap- 
parently a first-born son who was not named in his father's will of 1701. 
because he had died prior to Jan. 8, 1693-4; on which date "John Wood- 
ruff records earmark yt was formerly recorded to his son John Wood- 
ruff to Samuell Woodruff his son being two half pennys under the left 
ear" (Ibid. Folio 165). In the will, Samuel is named as the "eldest son." 

66 Howell, p«ge 44, refers to Doc. Hist, of N. Y., Vol. 2, page 536. 

67 S. T. R., II., pp. 360 361. 

68 Ibid, II. pp. 361-362. 

69 Ibid, II, pp. 76, 78. 84, 87. 88, 92, 100. 101, 119, 120, 123, 254, 258, 259, 
263, 264, 278, 303. 307, 312, 317, 319, 328, 332 ; So. Liber C of Deeds, folio 
37J4 So. Red Book of Deeds, folios 338-364. 

70 Ibid, I., pp. 2 to 6. 

71 Ibid, I., p. 50. Note W. S. P. 



THE TWO SONS JOHN. 35 

and wood lands, their holdings were necessarily widely 
dispersed, and there were naturally very many exchanges 
between individuals to make their farms better suited to 
their purposes 72 . Hence it came about that the "swap- 
ping of land" seems to have taken the place of the "swap- 
ping of horses" elsewhere ; and John Woodruff evidently 
did his share 09 . 

His share ended when on Jan. 14, 1701, he "in health 
of body" made his will 73 and on April 1st, 1703, it was 
proved. Between the death of his father in 1670 and his 
own death in 1703 Southampton had passed through many 
vicissitudes. In July, 1673, New York was captured by 
the Dutch. In a manly petition, of Aug. 14, the "In- 
habitants of the East Riding of Long Island (namely, 
Southampton, Easthampton, South Hoold, Seataukok, and 
Huntington)" surrendered under duress : but, with some 
aid from Connecticut and one "spirited engagement", they 
successfully resisted the taking of an oath of allegiance 
until, on Nov. 10, 1674, Governor Andross replaced the 
Dutch. Instead of rewarding the East Riding for its 
brave loyalty the Governor promptly forced the inhabi- 
tants to take out, and pay for, new patents for land that 
was already indisputably their own. The later change of 
their lord's title from Duke of York to James II only in- 
creased the power to oppress, until the revolution of 1686 
brought relief 74 . 

No doubt John Woodruff did his duty as a good citizen, 
but the records do not show that he took a prominent part 
in public affairs. Born with the silver spoon in the mouth 



72 Ibid, Passim. Howell, pp. 26 and 27. 

78 E. L. I. W.,p. 261. 

74 Howell, pp. 60-67- S. T. K. II. W. S. P. pp, IV and V t 



36 THE TWO SONS JOHN. 

that deprives of one incentive to exertion ; although soon 
surpassed in wealth by many in the growing communhy, 
yet still the possessor (as his will shows) of broad and 
scattered acres, now unhappily subjected to grinding taxa- 
tion and extortion ; and with ten children to bring up ; he 
was perhaps one of those upon whom Gov. Lovelace, and 
his successors, had laid such taxes as to "leave no time for 
thinking of anything else than how to pay them" 15 ; and 
was what we would now-a-days call "land poor." 

In his will 16 he bequeathed his possessions to his wife 
Hannah; his sons Samuel, Joseph, Benjamin, Nathaniel, 
Isaac and Jonathan ; and his daughters Sarah (Davis), Han- 
nah, Abigail and Elizabeth; of whom when his will was 
drawn in 1701, all from Nathaniel down were not yet twenty- 
one years old. To his second surviving son, Joseph, who 
had emigrated to New Jersey in 1699 1 '', and had there- 
fore probably already received a portion in money, he left 
twenty pounds and a remote reversionary interest in lands 
willed to the younger brothers. To the daughters he gave 
ten pounds each on their coming of age; Sarah no doubt 
having had a portion on her marriage, and the others to be 
similarly cared for by his heirs. To his wife and his 
other sons he bequeathed all his houses and lands, includ- 
ing commonage 18 . 



75 Ibid, p, iii. 

76 E.L.I. W,,p.261. 

77 Proceedings Vol. II, No. 2, p. 117. He was the progenitor of the 
Westfield branch of the New Jersey Woodruffs. See Note 58, 

78 His lands were situated as follows; Adjoining a pond called Scut- 
tle Hole (about 1% miles northwesterly from Bridge Hampton): by 
Long Pond, a string of ponds extending southerly from the above to a 
point on the "Hampton Koad" just west of Bridge Hampton ; and 
Brushey Neck, a part of Hog Neck lying just west of Sag Harbor's 
Main street (S. T, R. II, 90, Note, and 92). The neck is now owned and 
occupied by Dr. Morton, There was another "Brushey Neck" west of 



THE TWO SONS JOHN. 37 

The home lot was on the east side of Main street (South- 
ampton), next south of the lot cornering on the "Hampton 
Road" to Bridgehampton, Easthampton, &C.,'' 9 ; its "three 
acres" of 1648 80 having been later extended eastward "as 
much as may be," to be made up for by surrendering land 
elsewhere 8 x . The site of the Gosmer- Woodruff homestead 
is now occupied by the house of Mr. Josiah Foster. After 
the original building had in 1703 come into the hands of 
John's son Samuel, it was rebuilt and remodeled to some 
extent 82 ; and as thus altered is shown in Vol. I, of South- 
ampton Town Records (frontispiece) and in Mr. Howell's 
History (opposite page 148). On April 12, 1728, Samuel 
Woodruff and Sarah his wife deeded 83 this property, that 
had been 80 years in the Gosmer and Woodruff families, 
to Mr. Francis Pelletreau. The house, which was of some 
consequence for the time and place, was still standing until 
within a few years. It was the last in Long Island that 
retained the old-fashioned rhomboidal window-panes, once 
in general use, and was for this reason known as "The 
House of the Diamond Windows" 84 . 



Westhainpton (S. T. R. III. p. 143). He had lands also adjoining the 
west side of the Town Pond (Lake Agawam ; the Indian name of South- 
ampton); continuing westward, in Captain's and Halsey's Necks of the 
Great Plain, and at Shinnecock ; northward also at Sebonnucke (Sepon- 
nucke, Sebonic, Sebonac), just north of the Golf Grounds, The farm is 
now in the possession of Captain White. Going westward past Canoe 
Place, he owned on the Aquebauge (or Accabog) meadows, along the 
South shore of Great Peconie Bay, south of east from Kiverhead. He 
had previously disposed, by exchange or sale, of other lands at Quogue; 
at Catchaponak (just west of Quogue meadows); at Sagaponack (Sagg, 
two or three miles southeast of Bridge Hampton); and of a part of his 
borne lot. 

79 S. T. R. III. Plan of Main street, Southampton. 

80 Howell, p, 26. 

81 S. T. R. I. pp. 150-151. 

82 Letter from Mr. W. S. Pelletreau of Oct. 19, 1900. 

83 So. Liber C of Deeds, folio 827. 

84 E. L. I. W.. p. 261. 



38 THE TWO SONS JOHN. 

Samuel Woodruff was on record in Southampton as 
dealing in land on April 16, 1733, and April 8, 1738 86 , 
when he was probably sixty-four years of age; and then 
passed from view. His brothers presumably scattered to 
the farms that had been bequeathed them near the town, 
as there are tombstones of their descendants in the Bridge 
Hampton (both old and new), Scuttle Hole, and Shelter 
Island burying-grounds, and perhaps elsewhere; but no 
graves have been found of John Woodruff's own sons and 
daughters. Doubtless the tombstones still exist, but pos- 
sibly hidden from view beneath the soil 86 . There are 
occasional records, none indicating residence in South- 
ampton 8 ^ down to modern times; but few of the blood, 
and still fewer of the name of Woodruff now remain in 
eastern Long Island. In New Jersey, however, they 
abound. 



85 So. Red Book of Deeds, folio 908. S. T. R. Ill, p. 8. 

86 Formerly, many families living outside the villages buried their 
dead on their own farms, or with their neighbors in a nearby plot. If 
the land was kept in the family the graves have been preserved, but in 
changed hands there might be no one to care for them ; and existing 
tombstones illustrate all the steps of the change from an upright posi- 
tion until only a scrap is still left bare by the eyer encroaching sod. In 
addition, as for example at Scuttle Hole, in some instances the entire 
space is fast being covered by undergrowth, and at the present pace be- 
fore very many years have passed even the memory that it was a bury- 
ing ground may be obliterated from the minds of all but a few geneal- 
ogists. 

87 The census of 1776 (S. T. R. Ill, Appendix), shows that at that time 
John, Daniel, David, David Jr., Silas and Benjamin Woodruff were 
heads of families numbering 26 souls in all. From the order of the list 
they were living (apparently not very far apart) to the eastward of Water 
Mill. There is no eyidence that any were living in Southampton or any- 
where to the west of Water Mill. 



; 03 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




021 548 405 1 



